


A gift worth giving

by Nival_Vixen



Series: Word of the day [19]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Alternate Universe - Orphanage, Complete, Derek Loves Stiles, Derek Needs To Use His Words, Doubt, Eventual Happy Ending, Falling In Love, First Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Historical Fantasy, Kings & Queens, M/M, Orphan Stiles, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Stiles Loves Derek, Virginity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:08:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1865721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nival_Vixen/pseuds/Nival_Vixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A person’s virginity is not only the physical act itself, but also an object that can be gifted to someone else. Stiles has given his virginity to Derek, one of the soldiers in the King’s Guard. Despite his parting promise to return the next month, Derek still hasn’t returned two months later, and Stiles doubts that he ever loved him at all.</p>
<p>(Happy ending, I swear!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A gift worth giving

**Author's Note:**

> Word of the day: Smirch
> 
> verb;  
> 1\. to discolour or soil; spot or smudge with or as with soot, dust, dirt, etc.  
> 2\. to sully or tarnish (a person, reputation, character, etc.); disgrace; discredit.
> 
> noun;  
> 1\. a dirty mark or smear, as of soot, dust, dirt, etc.  
> 2\. a stain or blot, as on reputation.

"What on Earth were you thinking, Stiles?"

Stiles hung his head, face red and blotchy as he tried not to cry. Matron Blake had finally noticed that morning that he no longer had his object of virginity, and had pulled him aside after the others ran out after breakfast to play outside. She had been berating him severely for the past fifteen minutes, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and die.

"Whatever reputation you might have had for yourself has been smirched completely now. You gave away your virginity to some lowly guard, and now  _no one_  will have you! Do you honestly expect anyone to want you, an orphan with no dowry, and now not even your virginity to gift! You might as well spend the rest of the night working on the street; it's all you'll ever be good for!"

Matron Blake stormed away then, her face twisted into something ugly and terrifying, and Stiles took the chance to run upstairs to the boys' dorm. He was alone in the room, and curled up with his knees pressed to his chest, eyes squeezed shut as he tried not to listen to the voice in his head that told him he was an idiot. It sounded a lot like Matron Blake,

Stiles had truly believed that Derek was different from the others in the King's Guard, that he actually meant it when he said he loved him, that he would return in a month to take him away. It had been two months, yet Derek still hadn't returned to their small town within. None in the King's Guard had, in fact, and they usually came every month like clockwork. It was one of the reasons Stiles had decided to offer Derek his virginity; he thought that even if Derek left his bed cold the next morning, they would always have next month, just like they had for the past year and a half. But now that was gone too.

Matron Blake said that Derek had just used him for his virginity. It had been such a lovely keepsake that others in the orphanage had tried to steal it and substitute it as their own, but Stiles hid it and clutched it tight in his sleep so he wouldn't lose the golden locket. It had been too large for him to wear when he was younger, but he'd since grown and had taken to wearing it day and night. He had kept it close, safely guarded in his hand at night; the locket was the only thing he had of his parents, and Stiles had told himself that he would only give it to a person that he knew loved him. Obviously, he'd been wrong.

Stiles felt sickened at the thought. It went against everything he thought he knew about Derek: he'd seen him stop and help a child crying on the side of the road, when others within the Guard had simply walked past without a care. He'd seen him smile and laugh, he'd listened to Derek talk about his sisters with such love in his voice and expression, and Stiles couldn't believe that he would use him like this, for a chain and locket of gold.

Derek hadn't anything to give him in return, and he'd seemed ashamed as he explained how he'd given it to a woman that he thought he'd loved when he'd been far too young to know what love truly was. He sounded so certain, whispering words of love and admiration to Stiles, and he ... he had stupidly believed it.

He was eighteen next month, and when Derek held him, kissed him, told him that he loved him, Stiles had stupidly thought that he could leave with him, join the King's Guard and get away from this hellhole. Derek had even shown him how to fight with both fists and a sword, and he'd practised. While the other children ran off to play and throw mud at each other, he slipped away to the forest and practised every move that Derek had taught him. He wanted to show him how much he'd improved over the past few weeks, month, two months.

_Fuck, he was so fucking stupid. **Of course**  someone like Derek would never love him. Derek was beautiful and gorgeous, and Stiles ... wasn't. At all. Stiles should have known right from the start that Derek would never want him, not in his bed, nor in his life. Stupid, stupid, stupid_.

He groaned in annoyance when he heard squeals of delight and laughter coming from outside, and Stiles turned over, burying his head under his thin pillow. It didn't help much, and certainly not at all when Isaac ran into the room, puffing in exertion, face red and eyes wide as he frantically tugged on the pillow.

"You... You have to... Stiles... It's Derek," he finally said.

"What?" Stiles murmured, lifting the pillow to frown at Isaac.

"Derek! He's outside. Come on," Isaac said, tugging on Stiles' tunic now.

Stiles reluctantly let himself be led out of the room, his frown deepening when he saw Matron Blake standing at a window with her jaw hanging open. Isaac didn't slow down enough for Stiles to see what she was gaping at, but as they both spilled outside, he saw for himself.

Derek was sitting atop a horse, sword by his side as he grinned down at the gathered children around him. Then he spotted Stiles and his grin faded, giving way to a much more nervous expression. He got off the horse carefully, making sure not to hit a child, and made his way over. Stiles could see that Derek was wearing his locket, the item proudly on display, as a lover might, and nope, he did not get teary. (Beside him, Isaac started sniffling.)

"I'm sorry it took me so long to return, Stiles," Derek said, his voice quiet.

He reached out to cup Stiles' face, as he'd done two months before, his hand warm against his cheek as Derek pressed a kiss to his mouth and apologised profusely before leaving him cold. Derek must have seen something in Stiles' expression because he let his hand drop back to his side, looking ashamed. Well, Stiles wasn't going to stand for  _that_. Not from the man who had his virginity, damn it. He moved forward, grabbed Derek's hand, and pressed it to his cheek, giving Derek his stubborn ass look (as Isaac called it). Derek sighed in relief, his thumb stroking against Stiles' skin gently.

"You can keep apologising for a while longer," Stiles said thickly, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat as he turned his head to kiss Derek's palm.

Derek reddened slightly and nodded. "It took me a while longer than I thought it would to retire from the King's Guard."

"You retired from the Guard?" Stiles asked in surprise.

He nodded. "I don't want you for a single week every month, Stiles; I want you for always, just as I promised."

Derek barely managed to get the words out of his mouth before Stiles pressed up against him, holding his shoulders and kissing him firmly.

"Uh, Stiles? Perhaps you should take it somewhere private; you don't want the kids asking Matron Blake where babies come from," Isaac muttered.

Stiles made a brief noise of agreement in response, but took his time to pull away from Derek's lips. Derek looked a little dazed his mouth falling open to reveal his cute bunny teeth that Stiles admittedly loved. He gave a grin, took Derek's hand and led him back into the orphanage, straight past Matron Blake who was still staring (Stiles didn't like the look of lust in her eyes, the old witch), and up to the dorm.

"You're not upset with me, are you?" Derek asked softly when the door was closed behind them.

"I was," Stiles admitted. "Two months, Derek. I thought... I thought you'd used me for my virginity," he murmured, his fingers playing with the gold locket around Derek's neck.

"I would never do that, Stiles. I told you about Kate; do you really think I could do the same thing to anyone, especially anyone as important as you?"

Stiles shook his head briefly, wrapping his arms around Derek to hug him firmly. "It was self-doubt and the negativity from others... You could've sent a letter," he added sourly.

"I couldn't think of the right words to write," Derek admitted, stroking Stiles' back gently.

He mumbled something incoherent under his breath, snuggling in closer and thinking about the last time they'd held each other this way. They'd been naked, or getting there at least, Derek still in his uniform pants as Stiles clung onto him for dear life, kissing him eagerly and trying to get him to a flat surface as soon as possible. His virginity locket was already around Derek's neck, and he was staring at Stiles like he'd been handed the key to the kingdom, like Stiles was something  _special_.

"What are you going to do now that you're no longer in the Guard?" he asked, looking up at him.

"I'll find work here, or wherever you want to go; I don't care, so long as you're with me," Derek said, blushing red again.

Stiles smiled at him brightly. "Sounds good to me."

...

It wasn't a fairytale ending by far, and they both took time to adjust to their new lives. Stiles snored, Derek hogged the blankets, and if the weather was bad enough, the roof leaked right onto their bed, no matter where they moved the bed.

Derek got a job as a blacksmith, and when the King's Guard were in town, he spent just as much time repairing horse's shoes as he did catching up with the Guards themselves. A few months after he began his job as a blacksmith, Derek presented Stiles with a locket of his own, black metal swept up into intricate swirls to match the pattern of Stiles' locket, and he found comfort in holding the warm metal, just as he once had with his own locket.

Stiles discovered that he could cook and quite well at that. He charmed his way into getting a job at the local inn, and while the pay was paltry, he was allowed to take any leftover food home every night, which saved on their expenses. Scott, the son of one of the inn's barmaids, was pleasant and became a fast friend. He helped Stiles carry the food home, chatting about his apprenticeship under the local doctor.

Stiles invited Isaac to leave the orphanage and stay with them, an offer he took up in the middle of the night almost four days later, soaked to the bone with a black eye, holding his bleeding nose with one hand and his object of virginity in the other. Someone had tried to take it from him, the silver arm band shiny and attractive enough. Stiles had calmed Isaac down while Derek went to get Scott, who knew enough about medicine now to offer some help. Isaac went strangely quiet around Scott, and they started spending a lot more time together after that night. Stiles wasn't entirely surprised to see Scott wearing Isaac's arm band three months later.

Despite the snoring and blanket hogging and the petty arguments that could sometimes ensure from both, Stiles and Derek loved each other fiercely and with their whole selves. Even in the middle of a fight, Stiles could see the gold locket around Derek's neck and pull him into a hug, arms tight around him. Or else Derek would see the locket he had crafted hanging around Stiles' neck and caress his cheek, his own way to express his love, and they would both break, pulling the other close and over to the bed.

Derek told Stiles that he loved him every morning and night, no matter what happened between those times, caressing his face gently before kissing him. Stiles no longer doubted that he meant every word, and he made sure that Derek knew that he loved him just as much.

...

The end.

Thanks for reading!


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